Archive for the ‘Sample Swap’ Category

Don’t forget you need to email photos of your ‘blog ready’ items to Cass at cassandra_ward@telstra.com by Friday 1st June!! If you don’t, you won’t be eligible to participate on the day, because Cass will have lined up a replacement for you! I promise you, it’s a HUGE job to organise this swap….please make Cass’ life as easy as possible!

Here is the list of people who have signed up. If you thought you had signed up, and your name is not on this list, then you actually haven’t signed up. Email Cass at the email address above ASAP:

And there is nothing quite like the excitement of Sample Swap time at Sew It Together. Don’t be freaked out if I tell you that there are circles formed, and a little dance is done. You can see more here (right at the end) in this awesome video that Donna put together recently……

And here is the official word from the woman in charge of the Sample Swap, the awesome Cass of Snailblazer fame.

Once again we will be holding the sample swap during SIT. For anyone who hasn’t been involved before this means making 5 of the same items and then swapping them at SIT. Everyone is put into groups of 6, so you make 5 items and you get one item from the other 5 people in your group. So you go home with 5 lovely handmade items. This has been a really fun swap and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Now on to the details:

1. You must email me by the 19th May to let me know you are participating. You will receive a return email confirming you are participating. If you don’t email me then you won’t be able to participate. Leaving a comment on the blog or Facebook is not enough nor is assuming you can just bring your items on the day. I need to know beforehand so I can allocate groups and call on extra people if needed. Unless you have received a confirmation email by reply from me, then consider yourself NOT signed up for the Sample Swap.

2. You must send me a “blog ready” photo of all your items one week prior, so by the Friday 1st June. The reason for this is if you can’t get your items ready we will need to call on a reserve to take your place. Unfortunately there has been a couple of occasions when people haven’t had anything on the day which has meant other people missing out or usually me making extra items to overcome this. If you have a legitimate reason you can’t email me the photos the week prior let me know and we can see if we can work something out. For those of you that don’t know “blog “ready” means pretty much finished. So for example you might have made pincushions, stuffed them but haven’t sewn up the closure yet or softies and the eyes are sewn on.

3. Reserve list – if you think you can make 5 items in a week please let me know you would like to be placed on the reserve list in your original email. This means if someone pulls out I will call on you to make 5 items at the last minute. They may be the same items as you will then be in two groups or 5 new items if the mood takes you. This list will also be used if I need to make up numbers so that we can have groups of 6.

If you have any questions and to sign up please email me at cassandra_ward(at)telstra(dot)com

Thank you, Cass!! Now that might sound like a lot of rules, but we have been here before, done this before, and figured out the best way to make this work for YOU. Unfortunately, Cass has been let down in the past, at the last minute, and this has resulted in difficulties on the day. And we want to have fun at Sew It Together too, so all you have to do is follow the rules, which are very fair, bring your items to Sew It Together and take some gorgeous handmade things home with you. Easy!

Firstly, a final callout to anybody else who would like to go to Material Obsession on Sunday Morning, leaving The Menzies at 9:30am. Bookings will close for this at midnight tonight so I have confirmed numbers. You can book and pay here! This trip includes your transfer to the airport afterwards, with an expected arrival time of 1:00pm at the domestic airport terminal.

Secondly, I have 3 places left at the Prints Charming Stitching Session on Friday afternoon at 4:30pm at the Prints Charming Studio in Annandale. This has previously been exclusive to non-Sydney residents, but I will open up those last 3 places to anybody who wants to come along, Sydney residents inclusive. You can book and pay here!

Thirdly, I have the following list of people who have signed up for Cass’ SIT Sample Swap. To jog your memory, this involves making 5 items (all the same, but feel free to vary your fabrics), bringing them along to the Crafting Session where we’ll break off into groups of 6 people and you’ll all swap items. You’ll go home with 5 different handmade items from other bloggers and have some great souvenirs to take home with you!

Leave a comment below to let us know what you’ll be making and bringing

If you won’t be participating, please leave a comment below to that effect.

If your name is not listed above, please leave a comment below if you WOULD like to participate, and what you’ll be making.

There will be numerous groups of 6, so don’t worry if you’re making the same as somebody else – that’s why Cass will be breaking you into groups to avoid double ups. Plus I brought home 2 pincushions last year, and I use both of them all the time, so don’t fret!

I think that’s about it!

Hope you’re all well, excited and planning what to bring along with you to work on. Small, easy, transportable projects are good – and preferably ones that don’t require you to think! There will be so much chatting and laughing going on, I can’t imagine how you’ll be able to concentrate!

If you went to SIT Melbourne last year, at some point in the afternoon you might have seen a group of women up near the tea and coffee who appeared to have broken into small groups, formed circles, and done a strange dance around crafty items on the floor. You might have noticed that there was much hilarity and laughter and not long afterwards, they all walked away with a handful of gorgeous handmade items and big happy smiles on their faces.

If you would like to be one of those women this year in Sydney, then this is what you need to know.

Cass’ SIT Sample Swap 2011

Orchestrated by Cass from Snailblazer, the Sample Swap is an ingenious idea that is easy to participate in, and a whole lot of fun.

It works like this:

make 5 of the same item

bring them all to the Saturday Crafting Session

at Sample Swap time, we’ll break into groups of 6 people

there will be a circle formed

and a weird dance (very important)

and you’ll get something from each person in your circle

and they’ll each get something from you

so you get 5 different handmade items

and a big smile.

What items to make for your ‘sample’?

Anything you like! Something sewn, knitted, crocheted, quilted…anything. It can be your signature item, or something new you feel like trying. Last year we had pincushions, tea towels, bags, pouches, covered notebooks, lunch bags, knitted washcloths, needlebooks, tissue covers, handy bags, fabric baskets, brooches and more! That should give you some ideas, but there are no restrictions. It just has to be handmade!

There is no cut off date for this swap, although Cass would like to know by the end of February if you are participating (to get an idea of numbers). Late-comers will be welcome.

Please email Cass directly at cassandra_ward@telstra.com and let her know if you will be participating, and also to give her an idea of what you’ll be making so we don’t double up in groups. She can also answer any questions that you have.

In case you missed the earlier announcement here, or on Ning, or on Cass’ blog (and in that case, I ask you, “Where have you been?”), here are all the details you need to know, from Cass, about the latest swap organised for Sew It Together:

Some of you may remember (and/or participated in) the 10 item swap I organised last year and I thought maybe I could organise something similar for Sew It Together.

How it works:

Nominate to participate

Once I have numbers I will let everyone know how many items they need to make (for example if there are 30 people we would probably divide it into 5 groups of 6 so you would make 5 items). MAXIMUM ITEMS WOULD BE 10, although even if everyone participated we could still do smaller groups if it would make it easier time-wise.

Bring your items to the Saturday session

Sometime during the day those who participated could break away and then I would have everyone’s name in a hat and we would start drawing. The first 6 names to come out would break away and swap their items and so on.

If you are interested in participating please email Cass at cassandra_ward(at)telstra(dot)com by 10pm Thursday 1st April. Details of number of items to make will be sent to you over Easter. If you have already expressed an interest there is no need to email again.

Okay! Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this swap. I missed the one last year and had deep, deep, regrets.

If, like me, you missed out on the Sample Swap organised by Cass of Snailblazer last year, then you will be excited as I am that she is organising another one, solely for participants at the Saturday Crafting Session.

For all details, head over to Cass’ blog post here or the post at Ning here.

Thanks Cass! I know it was a huge job last time around, so I really you appreciate you offering to host another swap. And I am definitely in this time!